Railway-crossing signal



Now. 11

J. I Aulaame:

RAILWAY CROSSING SIGNAL Filed May 51, 2 sheets-sheetl 1 n m ,mund/d4. Q.

J. LAUBE RAILWAY CROSSING SIGNAL Filled May 31,

1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

lili:

Fig. l2.

Patented Nev. ll, i924,

STATES Parent oFgFicE.

JOHN LAUBE, OF MGIGl-LN, MINNESOTA.

RAILWAY-CROSSING SIGNAL.

Application filed May 31,

My invention relates to danger signals in general and. more particularlya signaling device best' adapted for highway and rail-` wayintersections or so-called crossings.

The object is to provide a highly efficient audible and visible signaldevice operated by a moving train or engine approaching a crossing.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top view, in small scale, of my device applied to a railwaytrack crossed by a highway, the latter indicated in dotted lines only.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig, 1 omitting the near side `railv andshowing the far side rail as the latter would appear from line 2 2 inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged edge view of the signal post of my device lookingin a direction parallel to the railway track.

Fig. 4 is a partly sectional front elevation of Fig. 3, the sectionbeing taken about as on line 4 4 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the mechanism housing of my device which isattached to a rail and housing the means acting directly on the signalapparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 4. y n

Fig. 6 is Fig. 5 as seen on line G-G in the latter ligure.

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation on line 7-7 in Fig. 5 exposing themechanism within the box 35 fixed on the rail adjacent the signalapparatus.

Fig. 8 is a top view of Fig. 5 or Fig. T with the rail web shown insection.

Fig. 9 is a top view of a portion of a track rail, part of the railtread 'being omitted to disclose the mechanism secured to the rail andactuated by car wheels when moving over the track toward a crossing.

, Fig. 10 is a rear elevation ofFig. 9 as looking toward the latter fromthe upper end of the drawing sheet. ,4

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of looking from between the rails of atrack.

Fig. 12 is a sectional elevation on the line 1924, Serial No. 717,929.

12-12 in Fig. 9 withr the lug 73 in Fig. 9 omitted. i

Fig. 13 is a section on line 13-13 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 14 is Fig. 13 modified.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals. 15 designates ties and16-16a a pair of rails forming a railway track and 17 indicates a roadcrossing the track.

A suitable distance from the crossing I secure in the'ground a signalpost 18 having a cap 19 as apart of means not completely shown forprotecting the signaling element and the mechanism kactuating the samefrom the elements.y Of said mechanism or means 20 is a bell sounded by aclapper 21 having a spring arm 22 with a projection 23 over which mayswing vertically an arm 24 of a lever 25 which is pivoted at 26 to thepost and has a slotted hole 27 engaged by a pin 28 secured in avertically reciprocating rod 29. Said4 rod vextends down into a frame 30fixed on the post and has there a nut 31 to limit its upward movementwhen thrown upward by a rocker arm 32 which has a slotted hole for therod and is fixed on a horizontal rock shaft 33 journaled in suitablebearings in a tube 34 having one end secured inthe frame 30 and theother end in a frame or housing 35, which with its mechanism willpresently be further described. Said mechanism is however such that anycar wheel rolling over the rail toward the crossing will Contact with itand impart a rocking movement of the shaft 33 and thus throw the arm 82up under a coil spring 36 on rod' 29. The raising of the arm does notact directly on 'the rod but it mainly compresses the spring against afixed collar or pin 37 and as the spring expands it raises the rod 29and thereby rotates a ratchet wheel 38 by a dog 39 pivoted at 40 to arocker arm 41 journaled on Va stud 42 fixed in the post 18.

To the ratchet wheel or its hub 38a is secured a colored signal boardhaving two or more radial wings T43. Preferably, the pivot g'holds boththe dog 35 and the vertically vforked rodv 29; and the dog is normallyheld engaged with theyratchet wheel 'by a leaf spring 44; and on' thevpost is adjustably secured a finger 45 with which the upper part of thedog, whenlow'ered. that far, will Contact and thereby be disengaged fromthe ratchet wheel,- so afs to prevent unnecessary wear of it and the dogwhile the signal board isuspinning on the stud. By the time the boardcommences to rotate slowly anotherl car wheel ol the moving train willgive the rod29 another upward jerk, and so on, until the train haspassed the crossing. At the same time the arm 24 will have caused theclapper to sound the bell each time the arm 24 passes' up or doivn overthe projection 24a of the clapper arm. This explains the effect therocking of shaft 33 has upon the visual and audible signal elements onthe post 18. l will new describe more'fully the means by which a nioringtrain causes the shaft to roiliV betere it gets to' the crossing, so asto warn all parties near the cross road to keep away from the railwaytrack until the train nas passed by.

The mechanism box or trahie is clamped tothe side et the rail 16 by aclamping rod 46 (seeFig. 5) extending` transversely under the rail andhaving; at Vits inner end a rigidly fixed plate 47 with studs 48 placedin cavities.l in the 'frame 35,' while tlie other end of the rod extendsthrough a washer 49 and has a nut 50 for drawing the rod tight with theparts 47-35 in place. The' washer 49 is curved as a clamp member overthe base flange of the rail.

Fixed on the inner end of shaft. 33,- in the housing- 35, is adouble-armed cam :5l whose upward arm is swung inl one direction by ayoke 52and a pulling` rod 53 and in the other direction kby acontraction coil spring- 54 disposed in a tubular sp inggnide 'andholder 55 the spring being connected by a. nut 56 or other means. lnlike mani? the lower cani arm 51 is actuated by a yoke and spring 54a ina tube 55a. Theirods 53 and 53a are secured by conplings 57 to long`rods 58 and 58a respectively, supported slid- 1 ano ably in guides 59 or59L (in Fics. 6,713 14) to be further described say about. six' hundredfeet alone; i one rod in each direction troni the crossing 17. Theserods 5S and 53 practically alike., a description oi. one olf them willanswer for both;V it. being; nnde stood however that the devicesaetnated l v the ear wheels so as' to cause pulling' oit rods are rightand leftl or counterparts each side of the road 17, so that the seinetrain operating the signal when a-pproe-cliin.Ly road 17 'from eitherside ol it will not operi@ ate the signal alter having passed thecrossing. This is the reason, in Fig. l, erich wheel-'contacting devicehas a level S3 pointing` to the leftat one side of the rond crossing 17and pointing to the right at the. other side of cnr-)seing- 17, butotherwise the 'ol lowing); description will explain it all.

The rod 58 (or 58a) is made up ofa few* sections,'say` about two hundredfeet long each, and the adjoining ends. oi the sections are guided inthe angular end flanges 61132 (see ligs 10-11-12 and 9) of a small frame63, which has a channel 64 with a downward groove 65 (best shown in Fig.ln said channel the ends of the rod sections overlap in any suitable,slidablc n'ianner. ln the present drawing one section is bent to 'forman eye 66 with avertical linger 67 guiding in the groove G5 of thechannel (54; the other section having` its end bent at right. anglesforming a linger 68 that is engageable by a rocher arm 69 el akroch-shaft 7 0, which is jonrnaled in n groove 71 in the upper side of ametal haine 7 2 placed under the base oi' the rail and is detaehablysecured to lthe 1ail by having lugs 73 and 74 gripping upon the l aseVflange at one side of the rail and a pair of hooi; bolts 75 extendingthrough tl'r 'traine' 72 and provided with nnts 76, while their otherends form arms 77 secured by screws 78 to the traine (S3, whereby thesaid two 'frames 72 and 63 are firmly held in place on the rail.

The rockA shaft 70 rhas aroclter arni swingable up and down in a.clearance 8() in frame 72 and near the said clearance the frame has a.fiat, vertical arm S1 to which is secured by a pivot bolt 82 lever 83having at one end a weight 84 and at its vother end a stud 85 on whichis'pivoted a T-shap'ed stirrup 86 the head and arms of which are in thepath of the guiding' flange o? any regular railway wheel running' on therail 16.

The operation of this sub-mechanism is i'ollows:

A csr wheel C coming in thedirection oli the arrow fr in Fie'. 11 willtouch the' :mn l2 of the stirrup and tilt the leg li oit' it upon thearni 79 and then the wheel passes over the head H, presses downward andoperates arms 79, 69, ringer 68 and rod 58 and the signals, beforercachine' the crow" but alter passingthe crossing; the revel arrangedlevers 853 and stirrups will l. by the wheels, as the flange C2 :it thearm B2, which being` thereby depressed the leg la oiC the stirrup into'the cle 8O where its descent has no effect on the 79, and hence the s'ial is not operated by any train while it is moving away l'.thecrossing. A wheel coming` in the direction of arrow A2 will howeveroperate all the stirrups it passes over before reachinithe crossingbecause' they all have their ai B turned toward il?.

ln. Figs. 13 and 14 shown how brwlets 59 or 59a are secnred by washer;O7 and nnts 88, and that the rod 5S nia` either in a notch 89 close bythe rail web or in a hole 90 in the bracket arm some dis ance from therail web.` The latter is preferable where the rod 5S is' compass: alongthe outside of the fish-plates of the rail joints; but in so'fme caseswherev the lish plates are grooved adjacent the' rail I lll) lill

pass the rod through said grooves and may then have such portion ci therod fiat, as indicated at 58 in Fig. 13, which indication also meansthat I may have the entire rod or any desired portion of it flat.

In further explanation ci the rod joints it will be understood that whena train enters upon the track portion provided with my device the firststirrup 86 reached will cause a pulling of all the rod sections as ifthey were an integral rod from the stirrup to the yoke 52 (or 52a) andeach car wheel passing over the first stirrup operates it and thesignal; and when the train has passed over the first section of the rodand gets into contact with the next stirrup the latter will operate onlythe remaining rod sections between the train and the signal or yoke 52and the rod sections the train has passed over become idle because thepulling of the next section ahead of it can not -push on the idlesection owing to the slidable joint in each channel piece 63. Thus inFig. l0 if shaft 70 is rocked by a stirrup 'the other side of the railthe arm G9 will pull at rod section 58R but leaves section 581' idle,but a stirrup (not shown) further to the left pulling at section 58Lwill pull scction SR also, because of the finger 67.

The weight 84 serves to hold the stirrup 86 normally in elevatedposition and the red board 43 when in rotation draws attention andthereby warns persons on the road 17 that a train is approaching. At thesame time the bell 20 is sounded to give audible alarm in case fog, mistor darkness hinders seeing the red signal.

What I claim is:

1. In a danger signal for railway crossings, a post fixed near thecrossing, a rotatable signaling element mounted on the post and having aratchet wheel, a mechanism box secured at the outer side of one of thetrack rails, a horizontal rock shaft having one end in the mechanism boxand there fixed to it two diametrically opposite radial cams, twohorizontal yokes reciprocated each by one of the cams, in one direction,and by a spring in the other direction, a guided operating rod extendedfrom each yoke, a suitable distance along the rail in opposite directionof the spring action, a series of spaced devices secured on the rail andhaving operative connection with the adjacentV operating rod, and anelement for a wheel rolling on the track to press on and impart apulling movement to the rod; said rock shaft having at the signal post arocker' arm, a vertically disposed rod arranged to be pushed upward bysaid rocker arm and come down again of its own weight, a dog actuated bythe vertical rod and arranged to engage and rotate the ratchet Wheel andthereby the signalling element.

2. The structure specified in claim l and means for automaticallydisengaging the dog from the ratchet wheel after each impar-ted push tothe wheel.

3. The structure specified in claim l, in which the vertical rod isencircled by a pushan obstruction, secured on the roi.

4. The structure specified in c aim l, in which the devices operated bythe track wheels are active only when operated by the wheels approachingthe crossing.

5. The structure specified in claim l, in which all the parts of thesignal apparatus connected directly to the rail are clamped thereon soas to be adjustable on and removable from any part of the rail.

6. The structure specified in claim l, in which each operating rod ismade up of' several sections having slidably overlapped ends with meansat said ends for one section to pull but not to push the other section.i

7 The structure specified in claim l, in which each operating rod ismade of several sections having slidably overlapped ends with means atsaid ends for one section to pull but not to push the other section, asmall frame placed atthe outer side of the rail and guiding saidoverlapping, jointed ends of the rod sections, a larger frame extendingacross the base of the rail and having lugs taking over the inner baseflange of the rail, L-shaped bolts extending through said larger framesand having nuts at the inner side of the frame and the short arms of thebolts engaged with the small frame so as to clamp Vboth frames rmly tothe rail; said larger l'frame having a lateral wing and a clearanceopening through it, between the wing and the rail flange, a weightedlever pivoted to the wing and a T-sh aped stirrup pivotally suspended onthe lighter end of the lever and having` its leg normally suspendedabove the said clearance; a rock shaft journaled in the top of thelarger frame and having one rocker! arm projecting partly into theclearance and another rocker arm at the other side of the rail arrangedto pull at some part of the joint of the rod sections when a car wheelpasses over the stirrup.

8. The structure specified in claim l, and a bell mounted on the postand having a clapper operatively connected with the vertical rodactuating the dog.

ling coil spring between the rocker arm and In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature.

JOHN LAUBE.

